


Of Returning Home and New Hairstyles

by agrajag



Series: 4thewords [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gen, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 15:04:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15932879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrajag/pseuds/agrajag
Summary: Earth.Matt handed over the controls to Olia so he could press his face up against the small window on the side of their ship. For a moment he was taken back to long car trips with his family when he and Katie were children. He remembered that as they were approaching their destination, pressing his face up against the window and marveling at the campsite or the hotel. Even if they weren't exactly "marvel inducing" destinations. Perhaps, being a young child with mild ADHD, he was simply happy to be able to finally leave the car.Now, however, he was watching as they approached Earth. He hadn't seen Earth in almost seven years.He was finally going home.





	Of Returning Home and New Hairstyles

_Earth._

Matt handed over the controls to Olia so he could press his face up against the small window on the side of their ship. For a moment he was taken back to long car trips with his family when he and Katie were children. He remembered that as they were approaching their destination, pressing his face up against the window and marveling at the campsite or the hotel. Even if they weren't exactly "marvel inducing" destinations. Perhaps, being a young child with mild ADHD, he was simply happy to be able to finally leave the car.

Now, however, he was watching as they approached Earth. He hadn't seen Earth in almost seven years.

He was finally going home.

He'd get to see Katie after thinking she had disappeared for nearly five years. He'd get to see his father and see everything he had been working on since he had left his children in space )because he understood they had to stay and fight). He'd get to see his mother for the first time since before he had left for Kerberos. God, he couldn't imagine what it must have been like for her... thinking they'd all been dead. He had already made a promise to himself, once he had learned that the rebels were needed on Earth, that as soon as the war was over, he was never leaving her again. 

He had been nervous to have the conversation with Maenzee. How could he possibly tell her that he decided to stay on Earth after they had talked about starting a life together? It wasn't like Matt had planned to fall in love in when he joined the rebels, but then again, he hadn't planned to be kidnapped by aliens when he had joined the Kerberos mission. He had put off telling her for as long as he could, but there weren't exactly many places to hide on their small ship, and she could obviously tell that something was worrying him. When she finally cornered him and asked him what was wrong, he ended up word vomiting so fast, he was worried that Maenzee's translator might not have picked up everything. It took her leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss on his cheek to make him clamp his mouth shut.

"My love, if you wish to stay on your home planet, I have no qualms," she had said. "You know that the Galra destroyed my planet once they had used up all the resources. I have nothing to go home to myself. I would never take that away from you."

"Oh Zee, but what about everything we planned?" Matt had asked because, you know, he was a sucker for punishment.

"Well, I believe that Earth is as good as any other planet we could have decided to settle on. Yes, I know that I have never been outside my own galaxy," Maenzee had said as Matt started to splutter a protest, "but if it's where you wish to be, then I will be right beside you, my love."

"God, what did I ever do to deserve you?" Matt had asked as he hugged her close.

"You shot that Galra sentry that was closing in one me," Maenzee had said with a straight face before the two of them broke out laughing.

Matt felt Maenzee approaching him as his breathe fogged up the small window. He turned around and clasped her hand in his.

"Do you want to take a look?" he asked.

"Of course," she said. She took his spot in front of the window and, even though Matt couldn't see it since she was wearing her helmet, he knew she was smiling. "There's so much water," she said, the amazement evident in her voice. 

"We call those the oceans."

"Oceans," Maenzee said, testing out the word. "I think I'd like to visit an oceans."

"I'll take you as soon as I can," Matt promised. "We can all go," he added, raising his voice.

"Sweet," Olia called back from the captain's chair.

"We'll take the paladins, too," Matt continued. "Lance grew up by one of the oceans, the Atlantic, and he could show us all how to surf. And my mom is an amazing swimmer. Just wait until you see her."

"I can't wait to meet her," Maenzee said and Matt wondered if it was possible to fall in love with someone all over again. 

As soon as they landed, Matt was running out of the ship, practically dragging Maenzee behind him, and he only let go of her hand when he wrapped his mother up in a hug. He couldn't remember exactly what was said. Most of the words were lost in happy tears. He did know that he must have told her he loved her a dozen times, and that she had responded to an apology with a heart felt, "It wasn't your fault." Eventually Matt was able to pull himself back long enough to introduce her to Maenzee, and his mother started crying again as she pulled a surprised Maenzee into a hug of her own.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Holt," Maenzee managed to stutter out.

"Oh, sweetheart, you're family. Please, call me Colleen."

"Family?" Maenzee said quietly before she squeezed Colleen back. "Of course, Colleen. That's a beautiful name."

With the introductions out of the way, Sam and Colleen led the rebels to the Garrison hospital where the paladins were staying. Olia went to visit Keith. She said she had a few choice words to say to him after that one battle they had fought together. Matt gave her a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before she knocked on his door. He and his family continued down the corridor for a few more doors before they reached Katie's room. Matt didn't even bother knocking. He threw open the door and rushed in to find Katie sitting up in the bed, typing furiously on a Garrison issued laptop. She looked up at the commotion and, upon seeing Matt, the laptop was thrown haphazardly to the floor as she launched from the bed and into his arms.

"Matt!" she yelled.

"Oh my god, Pidge, careful there. You're gonna rupture my ear drum," Matt joked.

"Shut up. I thought I was never going to see you... again."

"You're telling me. We _have got_ to stop doing this." Matt kissed the top of Katie's head, knowing it was his only moment to get away with it. Once the hug ended, they'd be back to the lovingly bickering siblings they were. "Hey, so Pidge, I got someone for you to meet. If you're up to it?"

"Yeah, of course. The doctors are dumb," Katie said as she crossed her arms. "Like, I don't need to be here anymore. I landed in a nice, soft, grassy field after all."

"Wow, I don't think I've ever heard you compliment nature," Matt joked. He motioned for Maenzee and his parents, who had been waiting in the doorway during his and Katie's reunions, to join them in the room.

"Hi Mom and Dad," Katie said softly. Matt knew that they had their reunion long before he had arrived on Earth, but it seemed Katie felt the way he did. Before everything, she was exactly the best at showing how much she loved her family, although she would say it often, but now she hugged both of them tightly before stopping in front of Maenzee. "Hello Matt's friend," she said, offering her hand to Maenzee.

Maenzee laughed as she shook Katie's hand. "Hello Matt's sister. I'm Maenzee."

"Kaite. Or you can call me Pidge. Since everyone does now. Your helmet is... amazing."

"Oh, thank you," Maenzee said, blushing no doubt. She wasn't used to people complimenting the helmet. They usually were confused as to why someone would wear something so 'primitive' that didn't have an open window, much like the paladins helmets.

"Would you mind if I have a look at it sometime?" Katie asked. "I mean, if it's alright for you to take it off."

"Oh, yes, of course. I normally don't since my people, the Nudhie, are... well, were considered a bit... off putting."

"Well, those people are assholes," Katie said defiantly. 

"Katie, honestly," Colleen said, although her voice barely had a scolding tone.

"She has a point," Sam pointed out. "Fuck those people."

Everyone started laughing, and when they finally composed themselves Colleen said, "Well, who cares what they think?"

"You're right," Maenzee agreed. "Matt doesn't think so, so that's what matters to me."

It was Matt's turn to blush, and considering he didn't have a helmet, his whole family could see. He just knew that Katie would be poking fun at him later as soon as she had the chance. 

"Oh. _Oh. _" Katie ran back over toward Maenzee and hugged her. "Nice to meet you, Matt's girlfriend."__

__"It's wonderful to meet you, too, " Maenzee said softly._ _

__The five of them spent the better part of the afternoon in Katie's hospital room. Eventually a nurse came in with Katie's lunch, and moments after she left, the other paladins shuffled in one by one. Katie explained that they took turns eating in each other's room._ _

__"We got used to meals together," she had explained._ _

__It was admittedly crowded with all of them squished into the room, so the Holts and Maenzee excused themselves to go get lunch themselves down in the Garrison's cafeteria. As they were finishing up their food, Sam offered to show Maenzee the Atlas, so with a quick kiss, the two of them left, and Matt found himself resting his head on his mother's shoulder as they sat in the cafeteria. Matt thought about the last time he had been in the room. He had shared lunch with Shiro, the two of them barely talking despite both being excited about their mission. Shiro because of the argument he had with Adam, that everyone had known about and yet pretended they didn't. Matt because he had been thinking about how hard it was going to be to leave his mother and sister even though they had been so supportive of what he was doing. He was brought back to the present when his mother started running her fingers through his hair. He hadn't even noticed that she had slipped it out of the ponytail he had put it up in that morning._ _

__"That feels nice," he said._ _

__"It looks nice longer," Colleen simply replied. She was quiet for quite some time before she asked, "Any particular reason you grew it out?"_ _

__"Not really," Matt answered honestly. "Kind of hard to keep up with hair cuts when you're fighting battles on a daily basis."_ _

__Colleen stiffened up for a moment, but she relaxed again as she joked, "I saw Captain Shirogane. Apparently it's actually easy enough to keep up with hair cuts in space."_ _

__Matt laughed. "Yeah, you can't pry Shiro's patented hair style, although there are a few variations of it, from him. But no, I just really didn't think about it much."_ _

__"That's alright. I was just... if there was a reason you grew it out..." Colleen took a deep breath before she continued. "I don't want to rush either you or Katie, but you two can talk to me about these things. I want you to know I'm here for you."_ _

__"'These things?'"_ _

__"Gender identity and expression."_ _

__Matt wasn't proud of it, but he spluttered a bit at that. "Oh wow. Okay. Uh, thanks, Mom. I'm not trans or anything, but I mean, it means so much to me that you're so open minded about it."_ _

__"I know I shouldn't assume based on gender stereotypes," Colleen said. "But after having a feeling about Katie... about Pidge... I saw you with long hair and thought it might not be strange for both of you to be outside the binary."_ _

__"You've been doing some reading," Matt joked. Colleen laughed and started playing with his hair again. "You think Katie..."_ _

__"I think she still has time to explore," Colleen said simply. "And I don't mean space. God, I wish you both didn't have to go back once we've recovered from this past battle."_ _

__"Well, I know Pidge is going to return with the paladins. I know that she has to, but me and Zee, we're staying here with you. We've done our fighting for the cause. Now it's time for us to take some time for ourselves. For our family."_ _

__Matt felt a few tears land on his head. "Oh, honey, thank you. I'll still worry about your sister, but having you here means so much to me."_ _

__Matt sat up and hugged his mother for what must have been the thousandth time that day. "I'm glad. Okay, I think I've had enough of special moments for one day. It's been wonderful but draining." They both laughed at that. "I'm going to go join Dad and Zee. I really want to see the Atlas too, not gonna lie."_ _

__"Go," Colleen said, giving him a little push. "We have time to catch up later."_ _

__Matt smiled. "Yeah. We've got time."_ _

**Author's Note:**

> i started writing this after i finished season 7 and then got some major writer's block......... but i finally finished it! woo!
> 
> i had to give matt's alien girlfriend a cool alien name guys


End file.
